Former Alabama football coach Gene Stallings will be the featured speaker for an event titled "Remembering Johnny: An Evening with Coach Gene Stallings" at 6:30 p.m. May 7 at Knoxville Catholic High School.
Stallings' son, John Mark, passed away in August 2008 from a congenital heart condition related to Down syndrome.
"Coach was full of drive and determination - a real tough guy," said Tim Harris, who invited Stallings to speak.
"Johnny brought him the compassion and grace that made him the legend we know today. His story tells us success in life and on the field comes from that balance."
Stallings has become a tireless advocate for persons with disabilities, drawing inspiration from his son.
Tickets are $25 with dinner included.
Contact 865-560-0525 or dmiller@knoxvillecatholic.com.
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Comments » 18
VAvolfanRON writes:
this will catch some ire from the bama faithful....but, i really thought coach stallings was a class act.....maybe class acts don't win anymore.....i.e. saban, meyer, carroll, etc...i don't know......
i am not including kiffin..because he's our coach......
VAvolfanRON writes:
first....i didnt see anything wrong unclassy about his post....
second....why now do you want to keep post classy?....practice what you preach young man.....
VAvolfanRON writes:
ok...i respect that.....but your other posts on other articles....you dont think they are dear to us?...
i do believe you need to grow up a little and we can all get along.....and this article is about Gene Stallings..dealing with Mark.....and we are all aware how a class act Coach Stallings was........
i find it hard that all of a sudden when its about your team how sincere you are....think back....just maybe your G daddy moved to ohio...and all of a sudden you are an ohio state fan......i could've happened......man, we are all in this together.....football shouldn't divide us
mempuss writes:
A+ D-Vol! Hit the road bammer scum!
gnm53108 writes:
A good guy with a great cause.
GOD bless.
golfballs03 writes:
What about Kevin Stallings?
bearbull95#206250 writes:
Though orange runs in my veins, I will never forget the night that Bama kicked the phooey out of Florida for SEC championship and toward the end of the game, the ESPN camera turned up to the booth to show his son John Mark beaming with pride. I didn't know until that moment just what kind of a man Coach Stallings was, but it registered then.
tnvol27#546179 writes:
I admire Stallings for is humanitariun efforts. A successful college coach, horrible pro coach in St Louis, and associated himself with a complete bum in Mal Moore at bama....
tnvol27#546179 writes:
alittle class for a change???
TommyJack writes:
Should be a treat for Catholic High. Coach Stallings was a rare class act at Bama. Great man.
the10sevol writes:
Perfectly stated. I never met the man, but by literally ALL reports, Coach Stallings is the real deal. His personal and professional reputations are way beyond the norm. I was not aware of the passing of John Mark, and express my most sincere sympathies to the Tide nation. God bless the Stallings family.
Back to business...who the heck didn't recruit and sign Gene Stallings to UT out of high school? He could've been all-vol instead of all-tide. Our loss.
illinoisvolfan writes:
et_vol, you're right on the money. Coaches like Stallings and Richt who have shown there is more to life than sports are few and far between these days. These coaches teach and coach life lessons that will benefit anyone. Maybe we Vol fans can make similar comments about coaches Fulmer and Kiffin someday.
illinoisvolfan writes:
Coach Stallings is originally from Texas and played for Coach Bryant at Texas A&M. Later he was an assistant with Bryant at Alabama before going back to A&M as head coach and then to the pros. To my knowledge he has no Tennessee roots, he's just a true Southern gentleman, as one blogger put it. Hope that clears things up for you.
I was sad to read that his son John Mark died last year. I had a cousin with Down's Syndrome also, and people like that just touch your heart and never leave. My sympathy to the Stallings family.
the10sevol writes:
Agreed. With all due respect, lol, he was from Texas? Somebody shoulda explained the Texas-Tennessee connection. I know it was hard to compete against the Bear, but today, I would expect Orgeron to be there.
(note to Bama fane - please don't interpret these posts as disrepectful, just an acknowledgement of Coach Stalling's career and character).
GreenDevilVol writes:
You left,now it has all the class one needs,we make an exception like Stallings !!
littleorange writes:
Bama made a huge mistake when they terminated this man. It has been all down hill for the Tide with many character issues since his his departure.....
hueypilot writes:
Maybe he wasn't fired, yellow, but wasn't he pretty much forced to resign? At any rate there seemed to be little appreciation for the only man not named Bryant who had returned Alabama to football prominence. I was living in Indiana then and didn't get the constant dosage of SEC football but that was the way I understood it.
Colliervol writes:
Always thought Coach Stallings was a first class guy.
But could we possibly care any less what might hold a "special place" in the heart of a Bama fan? Please try not to post goofy things. That is just laughable at best.
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